Dr. Ben Carson surging in presidential race

Former Hopkins neurosurgeon leads Maryland GOP straw poll

Dr. Ben Carson is gaining political ground in the Republican race for president, winning the latest Maryland GOP straw poll. While Carson isn't from Maryland, he certainly spent a lot of time in Baltimore as chief pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which political analysts said is playing somewhat of a role in his surging in the polls.

While Carson isn't from Maryland, he certainly spent a lot of time in Baltimore as chief pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which political analysts said is playing somewhat of a role in his surging in the polls. Another reason may have to do with his humility.

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Carson recently explained to reporters why he thinks he's surging in the polls, saying: "I'm not going to be a traditional politician. I'm not going to do things like traditional politicians do."

On Tuesday, the Maryland Republican Party released results from its month-long presidential straw poll, and Carson blew past Donald Trump. Of the 930 respondents, Carson got almost 32 percent and Trump got almost 26 percent.

John Bullock, an assistant professor of political science at Towson University, said Carson's humble demeanor and strong religious beliefs is swaying conservatives.

"I think his style is somewhat different. Trump is more abrasive, Carson tends to be more reserved, and also, spending so much time in Maryland, (Carson) has a push, particularly in the state of Maryland," Bullock said.

However, looking at the fact that both Carson and Trump are at the top of national polls, it also proves that Republicans may be looking for a politician who is not established.

"If you look at the way Trump speaks, it's different than any other politician they're hearing, and if you look at Ben Carson, his experience is very different and that's resonating with voters," Bullock said.

As far as keeping the momentum, Bullock said what will make or break Carson or Trump most likely will be how they handle difficult questions concerning foreign and domestic issues and whether voters believe them.

"If they can carve out a place for themselves, they can do quite well, because that's going to be the stronghold of some of those other candidates who have been more polished, who have been elected to office before, who can speak to those issues with a certain degree of clarity," Bullock said.

Carson is also being labeled as the "anti-Trump" by many political insiders, because his style is so different than Trump's. What's interesting is if Carson really blows it out of the park at the CNN debate Wednesday night, it's possible he could take a commanding lead since after the FOX debate, his numbers started to surge.